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Crash of a Boeing 40B in Salt Lake City: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 23, 1931 at 0240 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing 40
Operator:
Registration:
NC286
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Oakland – Salt Lake City
MSN:
897
YOM:
1927
Location:
Salt Lake City
Utah
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot, sole on board, departed Oakland on a mail flight to Salt Lake City. While on approach at night, he encountered poor weather conditions with snow falls. Control was lost and the airplane crashed some 14 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. The pilot was killed.

Crash of a Boeing 95 near Saint George

Date & Time: Feb 24, 1930
Type of aircraft:
Boeing 95
Operator:
Registration:
NC419E
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Los Angeles – Salt Lake City
MSN:
1063
YOM:
1929
Location:
Saint George
Utah
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot, sole on board, was completing a night mail flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. En route, weather conditions deteriorated and while attempting an emergency landing, he lost control of the airplane that crashed in a mountainous area located about 20 km west of St George, Utah, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was seriously injured.

Crash of a Boeing 95 near Cedar City: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jan 11, 1930 at 0238 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing 95
Operator:
Registration:
NC420E
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Los Angeles – Las Vegas – Salt Lake City
MSN:
1064
YOM:
1929
Location:
Cedar City
Utah
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot Maurice Graham was performing a mail flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City with an intermediate stop in Las Vegas. He departed Las Vegas at 2200LT bound for Salt Lake City. While flying at night over the mountains east of Cedar City, Utah, he encountered poor weather conditions with blizzard. At a height of 12,000 feet, the aircraft stalled and crash landed on a mountain slope. The pilot was unhurt and walked away with the mail package. As the aircraft did not arrive in Salt Lake City, SAR operations were initiated but no trace of the aircraft nor the pilot was found. Eventually, Ward Mortenson and Elburn Orton, two youthful sheepherders, found the wreckage of the aircraft on 24 June 1930 some 22 miles south of Cedar City, in the Kanarra Mountains. The dead body of the pilot was found few days later, in July 1930, six miles away from the crash site.

Crash of a Boeing 40B in Park City

Date & Time: Mar 11, 1929
Type of aircraft:
Boeing 40
Operator:
Registration:
NC275
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
886
YOM:
1927
Location:
Park City
Utah
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route, poor weather conditions forced the pilot to attempt an emergency landing. Both occupants were uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.4B in the Great Salt Lake Desert

Date & Time: Aug 2, 1924
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.4
Operator:
Registration:
313
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Desert
Schedule:
Elko - Salt Lake City
Location:
Great Salt Lake Desert
Utah
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Elko to Salt Lake City, the radiator exploded, causing the engine to catch fire. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in the Great Salt Lake Desert. The pilot was rescued and the aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Radiator failure and engine fire in flight.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.4B on Mt Wasatch

Date & Time: Jan 4, 1923
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.4
Operator:
Registration:
247
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Rock Springs – Salt Lake City
Location:
Mt Wasatch
Utah
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Rock Springs to Salt Lake City, weather conditions worsened with the presence of a storm. The pilot decided to fly over and increased his altitude till 18,000 feet when the engine lost power. The airplane entered a dive and crashed on the slope of a mountain located in the Wasatch Mountain Range. The pilot was injured and able to reach the nearest village by his own.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.4B in Porcupine Ridge

Date & Time: Dec 15, 1922 at 0800 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.4
Operator:
Registration:
249
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Salt Lake City – Rock Springs
Location:
Porcupine Ridge
Utah
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Salt Lake City to Rock Springs, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions, Caught by severe downdrafts, the aircraft crashed in Porcupine Ridge, a mountain located northeast of Salina, at an altitude of about 9,400 feet. The pilot survived the accident and walked for about 24 hours in negative temperature before reaching the first village.
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